1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic cigarette which includes a suction part, an atomizer structure body, a liquid storing part, a main body including a switch, and a battery, wherein the atomizer structure body includes a flexible nonflammable metal net, an absorption part which may absorb a condensed liquid, a returning part which returns and supplies the condensed liquid, a crucible, and a liquid charging cap.
2. Discussion of Related Art
An electronic cigarette is an electronic device which heats and atomizes liquefied nicotine with an electric heater so that a user may suck in the atomized vapor.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, the electronic cigarette generally includes an electronic cigarette main body, a battery, an atomizer, and a cartridge. Here, the cartridge serves to store a liquid of the electronic cigarette, and the atomizer is connected with the cartridge and serves to heat and atomize the liquid in the cartridge.
Generally, a heating part of the atomizer uses a nichrome wire as a coil of an electric heater to produce heat well. A supplying body configured to directly supply the liquid to the heating part is formed of glass fiber and provided in a thread shape.
Meanwhile, the cartridge stores the liquid, and the liquid may be stored in a tank type or a storing container type, like storing ink in a pen, or may be stored in a member such as cotton. However, in this storing manner of the liquid, there is a problem that the liquid in the container is rapidly exhausted, and thus the liquid has to be frequently charged. Further, since it is difficult to properly limit an amount of sucking liquid, a user may suck in an excessive amount at a time.
Most of the conventional electronic cigarettes use a liquid supplying device using the force of gravity, and thus a liquid supplying part is structurally disposed above the heating part. Therefore, when the user uses the electronic cigarette, the liquid supplying part has to be disposed above the heating part in order for the liquid to be smoothly supplied. However, such a posture is very inconvenient.
Meanwhile, in case of the conventional electronic cigarettes, the glass fiber is used as a liquid supplying medium, but the glass fiber is easily broken and thus has very low durability, and also the broken chips of the glass fiber may be sucked into a user's body. Further, when the glass fiber is directly in contact with the electric heating wire and vaporizes the liquid, combustion occurs at a moment when the liquid is in contact with an overheated electric heating wire, and at this time, a burnt taste is generated and thus a taste of the electronic cigarette is deteriorated, and also a toxic substance may be generated. Furthermore, burnt residues generated when the liquid is combusted by the overheated electric heating wire are accumulated at the glass fiber, and durability of the atomizer is considerably reduced, and thus the atomizer itself including the atomizer structure body and the liquid supplying device has to be replaced with new one, whereby an economical loss is considerable.
Further, in case of the conventional electronic cigarettes, the liquid incompletely atomized by a flash heating manner occurring when the liquid supplied through the glass fiber thread is directly in contact with the heated electric wire may easily form condensation on a wall of the equipment while being sucked into a user's mouth through the atomizer and a pipe, and thus the equipment may be overheated, and also atomization efficiency is lowered. However, since there are no separate devices for enhancing the atomization efficiency and returning the condensed liquid, a secondary problem such as a leak may be caused. The leaked liquid in itself is a waste, and also if the leaked liquid is in contact with a printed circuit board (PCB) (a current PCB is manufactured to have a separate integral battery regardless of an auto or manual type, and thus has inconvenience and burden of expenses when the separate battery has to be replaced according to a power source operating manner), a defect of the PCB may occur and this causes a defect in whole batteries.
Further, the glass fiber is recently classified as a ‘2B grade’ cancer-causing material by International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) of WHO, and causes controversy of harmfulness.